You groan and shove your face back into the fluffy pillow as a loud set of knocks impact on the door. Despite lacking any kind of time piece, you know that it’s way too early to be getting up. The training took a lot out of you and you slept like a stone as a result. It can’t be Sombra coming back for more practice, as he has court in the morning, although he can cancel it at any moment.

With little grace you drag yourself from the bed and drearily approach the door. You peer through the crack to see a grinning face; it’s the mare from the library. You widen the gap and poke your head through. “Ah! Hello!” She greets happily. “Mind if I come in?”

She takes your initial silence for consent and pulls the door open to walk through. “Not all there in the morning?” She teases, plopping down on the sofa. You sigh and gently close the door behind her. You wander over and sit down next to her. “Oh don’t be so sour about it; I wasn’t much of a morning pony either before I started working here.”

You blink the sleep away from your eyes and straighten yourself out. “Sorry, it’s just that yesterday took a lot out of me.”

“Oh I understand. Its hard work here in the palace.” She adjusts her little red tie for a moment before looking around your room in curiosity. “Your quarters are very nice.” She muses. She hops away and takes a close look at the carvings on the fireplace. She seems drawn to an image of a fierce dragon, its fire blazing across the scorched ground.

“Something to be thankful for.” You mutter out of earshot. She quickly moves on to the rug, tracing a hoof across the circular patterns.

“I never did like the architecture in this place. It feels… cold and impersonal. I used to work in a cozy little inn downtown, but I couldn’t possibly ignore a job offer from the King.”

“That tends to happen when you make it out of crystal.” You joke. She giggles for a moment before returning to her spot. You sheepishly rub a hoof against the arm rest. “You know, I never got your name.” You admit.

She looks shocked for a moment. “How could I forget that? Rule one of hospitality is to introduce yourself, and it completely slipped my mind!”

“It’s okay.” You assure the slightly frazzled looking mare laying a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m R-Rose.” The name rolls of your tongue and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, it’ll have to do for now.

“I’m Warm Welcome.” She smiles and grasps your hoof, giving it a firm shake which you return in earnest. She deflates slightly and lapses into silence. You shift slightly on the sofa, the leathery material sticking out more and more as time goes on. You’re just distracting yourself again, say something.

“So… do you work in the library?”

She nods. “I work in all sorts of places, as long as I’m needed. In the kitchen, in the library, sometimes I even get to help out in the barracks, the library is my favorite, because I get to spend most of my time reading. The guards don't place much faith into book smarts, and nopony else really has the time."

“What do you read about?” You ask with piqued interest.

“Lots of different things.” She smiles. “But if I had to pick my best subject, it’d be the paranormal.”

“Ghosts and stuff?”

“It’s much more than just ghosts. Things like spirit realms, and manifestations in the real world. I find it enthralling. I’ve read nearly every book in the section.” She stops for a moment to put her feelings into words. “I like it, because it helps me understand how life works, if that makes any sense. I always get the feeling like there’s so much that I’m missing, a big picture that I can’t understand because I don’t know any better.”

“Deep.” You comment simply, unable to formulate a constructive response. “So, are ghosts a real thing or…”

“Of course they are!” She protests as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Although it’s very rare, only the most powerful of unicorns can manifest themselves after death. It’s even rarer for them to be able to influence the outside world.” So the magic must allow them to bring themselves back. You contemplate it for a moment before she coughs into a hoof to draw your attention.

“So, how have you been?”

“I could be better. Sombra’s still taking a personal interest in me, now he’s even taking me out for magic training.”

“Wow really?” Warm asks with starry eyes. “That must feel great, being taught by such a skilled magician. I bet he’s planning on introducing you to the guild.”

“Guild?” You mirror in bewilderment. Warm looks like you’ve just killed her dog.

“You don’t know who the guild is either? It’s the group of mages who help keep the Empire safe. They help maintain the shield alongside the King.”

“Hey! I’m new here.” You huff, puffing out your cheeks. She giggles at you for a moment before taking a breath to calm down.

“Actually it isn’t common knowledge outside of the Empire, so don’t feel so out of the loop.” She stares at the dirty fireplace for a moment before gasping. “Oh dear, I think it’s about time I tended to my duties.”

“How can you tell? There isn’t a clock in here.”

“Internal timekeeping, important skill for ponies who work in service.” She taps her forehead twice. “I’ll see you later; it’s nice to talk to somepony for once.” With that she hurriedly slips between the doors, leaving you in solitude once again.

She was right, having company was nice.

Much to your irritation Sombra was once again seated in the dining room, the simple process of getting some breakfast becoming a tad more complicated because of it. You don’t know exactly why you still feel so anxious around him at a glance, whenever you spend a bit more time together it manages to dispel itself in due time. A natural reaction to being around him perhaps, his actions so far give him the disposition of an oppressive manipulator trying to hold back a rabid dog.

His eyes meet yours sending goose bumps across your skin. You hate that feeling so much! He smiles a toothy grin and pulls out a chair next to him, the unsaid command causing your posture to droop in defeat. You swallow the lump in your throat and sit down briskly while avoiding any more eye contact.

The waiter comes along and takes your order of toast and jam. You know Sombra still has a beady eye on you. “Did you have a nice night?” He asks, looking at his reflection through a floating spoon.

“Nothing other than the usual.” You respond with as little emotion as possible.

The cutlery clatters back onto the table, making you jump, it continue to ring out for a second before a baritone chuckle escapes his chest. “Nervous? I expected you to be more welcoming to my presence by now.” He tuts. “I suggest you find a way to calm yourself, we will be spending much more time together from now on in light of your magical talents.”

A plate is slid in front of you, with a large piece of jam covered toast.

You grumble in discontent before his magic roughly grips your cheeks and forces you to face him. He damn nearly snapped your neck. “Do not take this opportunity for granted, I shall only present it to you once. I have much crueler ways to deal with those who defy my orders.” The magic fades and you snap your head back to its original position.

The corners of your mouth twitch as a dull ache torments you; you contort your mouth to take a bite out of your breakfast. You wouldn’t be surprised if that bruised you. Anger blossoms in your chest, but the dark glow of Sombra’s magic seemingly quells the tide. He smirks, probably thinking you haven’t put two and two together already.

“I do know what you’re doing.” You hiss. “This collar is to help control me isn’t it?” His face falls for a moment.

“To an extent.” His stoic demeanor pushes you right back on edge. “The real question you must ask is what you’re going to do about it.” His thinly veiled threat is book ended by another ominous laugh. Sombra is really hamming it up today. At the moment you want nothing more than for him to choke to death on his morning salad. He knocks his chest a few times and coughs as he winds down.

Unlike previously, where your mark of death had promptly resulted in the expiration of the stallion assaulting, now it only stands to make you feel bad about yourself. You really shouldn’t be wishing death upon anypony, no matter what they’re doing. A small part of your mind points out his emotional manipulation has stretched from your first day here, indicating some role in your sudden shortened temper.

A more rational part points out that, indeed he does, however his presence is required for him to do so as indicated by the use of his magic. Removing yourself from his sight seems to be the only effective way to stop him. One of your first priorities should be to find a way to remove the collar and get your free will back. Sombra looks expectant towards your answer.

“Nothing.” You admit. To your surprise he actually looks disappointed by your admission of defeat. “Not what you were hoping?” You tout with conceit.

“Not exactly, no. What happened to the resistant little rebel that I brought here weeks ago?”

“She’s ruining your fun.” You snark.

He sighs and closes his eyes. “Very well. As you are here already I propose we continue from where we left off yesterday.” His plate is quickly levitated away by an unseen waiter and placed onto the catering cart. You look down at your half eaten toast and shove the rest into your maw, chewing and swallowing before Sombra can ask what the delay is. The plate is lifted away by a slightly disgusted looking crystal pony. He and the unicorn hastily shuffle the cart back into the kitchen.

“Eloquent as always.” Sombra snidely remarks. “Perhaps these lessons should extend to common courtesy and manners too.” He winces as you let out a very un-ladylike belch. Good luck with that one.

He leads you back to the same yard from yesterday. A group of guards file out from the archway as they notice the King approaching. One stops behind and whispers into the king’s ear. “It’s ready behind the-“ You don’t catch the rest of it as the stallions laugh boisterously at a rude joke, nudging and heckling along the way. Sombra dismisses the last guard, who scampers off after them.

He guides you back to the shooting range. The dummies have been replaced, however the wall behind them still shows the telltale cracks. It’s incredible how much damage you caused, and you aren’t even trained yet. Sombra floats a pitcher full to the top with water into view and places it at the foot of the target.

“Today, we’re going to learn how to affect the properties of objects. Take this pitcher of water for example; I want you to boil the water inside. This shall teach you control, and the basics of temperature altercation.

“This should be simple enough, even for you.” He jabs. “Remember what we did yesterday and push your will, not onto the pitcher, but the water inside. You must connect yourself to the target, realize your intent and use your magical power to make it happen.”

Once again his advice proves to be vague and useless. You focus on the surface of the glistening water. “I want you to boil that water.” Sombra challenges. So how do you do this again? Focus on the water, you need to boil it. Heat, think of heat. Something that makes you really warm. Summer, the warm sun beating down on you, the feeling of a strong pair of hooves wrappi- stop! Your face twitches as your muscle tense.

How about something else? A volcano maybe? Molten rock spewing everywhere, burning anything that gets too close. You feel the magic bubbling up inside your chest again, you push it through to your horn. The feeling of an intense warmth flows beneath your skin, drops of perspiration move down your fur. Now, boil the water!

Instead of an uncontrolled blast like the offensive spell, this is much more gradual. You relax and let it go on as the water visibly starts to steam and bubble. It feels rather uncomfortable, like a string is being pulled through the tip of your horn, which in itself feels like a finger, and down towards the water.

“Very good.” He comments. This is enough to break your concentration. There’s no water left in the pitcher, which has been left untouched by your spell. “You are either a very talented little mage, or I’m a fantastic teacher.” He muses. His horn glows and wraps around the pitcher, a metal pot takes its place. The chrome pot is clearly stolen from the kitchen. The lid even has a little handle to check on what’s cooking. The difference is clear, this time you can’t see what’s inside.

“Let’s try again. This time, you’ll not be able to see the target. But this does not restrict you. Simply imagine the area of which the liquid takes and heat the air, just as before.”

Easy peasy, just like before you think of a volcano and the extremely hot magma inside. You push the magic from your horn onto where you believe the water to be and release the magic. This time there’s a lot less steam, but you assume that it’s due to the difficult targeting required. Sombra nods in satisfaction before placing a hoof on your shoulder.

You snap away and clutch your throbbing skull. This really took a lot out of you. Sombra actually looks concerned for once. “Take it easy. Magic fatigue is dangerous. You need not impress me so quickly.” An emotion other than brooding for once? He notices your shock and relapses back into his usual grumpy demeanor; you can’t help but feel disappointed.

“Take a break.” He points to the archway. “We shall continue later.” You don’t question his order and trot off, eager to go back to the library and shoot the breeze with Warm Welcome.

Sombra watches as his student trots away, his eyes flicking down to her flanks for a moment. “Infantile thoughts.” He grumbles to himself. “What am I? A prepubescent colt?” His magic grips the still warm pot and floats it over to him, pulling open the large cover. He covers his eyes as a rush of steam escapes from the open chrome container.

Once the smoke is clear, he looks inside at the crusty red lump that remains. Gathering up the blood was easy enough. He dances a jig inside his head at successfully duping you into practicing blood magic. A niggling concern still remains at the amount of raw power at your disposal. He’d have to keep a close eye on you.

The sound of hooves alerts him to the presence of another. "I told you." The red stallion gloats. He smiles at the King's dire expression. "If I were you, I'd watch out. Wouldn't want her getting any dangerous ideas."

Sombra snorts and rises from the ground. "Indeed. Here's hoping that we can speed up the process before any undue damage is caused."

"She seems to be picking this up remarkably well. These are skills rarely seen even in our hallowed ranks." He sighs wistfully, he sniffs the air, ripe with the stench of blood. "Smells like potential. Do hurry up, we are running out of time." Sombra rolls his eyes and forces the pot into the robed pony's grasp.

"Who are you to command me?"

"The head mage." He deadpans.

"Indeed you are, Fury." A foreboding silence rains upon the yard. "I trust you and your fellows will be with us tomorrow? It's not like you to miss an execution, even in our current state of affairs."

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world." He grins.

Author's Notes:

Going through the motions, big happenings in the next chapter! 30,000 words woo! Officially my longest story. Have some real talk.

Fun Fact: the original draft of this story was based around a medical student being kidnapped and forced to act as Sombra's confidant due to a dangerous injury, before being slowly turned into a pony. It didn't work well due to the setting and concept, so I scrapped it for what we have now. I suppose this particular set-up doesn't lend well to a second person story, and it's grown in scope and scale beyond what I'd originally planned, but I'm very happy with what I've done so far.

The second draft for this was a simple clopfic, which is quite evident from the first few chapters. The positive reception I got for the more dark and story driven elements drove me to expand on different concepts which originally were only to provide context for some shameless TF/TG clop. For example I never even intended to introduce the conflict between Sombra and the rebels, but what's a good story without some conflict? (There will be clop though.)

Ultimately I feel like my skills as a writer have improved greatly from my previous works. I would've never have dreamed of writing something of this scale before. Looking back into the complete mess that was Adjustment fills me with endless shame and a sudden urge to re-write it. Although that won't happen for some time, I'm focused on finishing this one first.

I'd like to thank everybody for reading this, not only for putting up with my horrid update schedule and writing speed, but for also enjoying the story so far. There's quite a ways to go yet, so I hope you all enjoy the ride.